Stephen Wallem Bids Good Night to 'Nurse Jackie'

It's good to know people in high places, for sure, but Stephen Wallem's success as gay nurse Thor Lundgren on Showtime's hit series "Nurse Jackie, "which returns for its seventh (and final) season on April 12, isn't really due to nepotism. (His sister Linda is one of the show's creators.)

The 46-year-old, openly gay actor logged more than two decades in Chicago theater - ranging from "Forever Plaid" to "Man of La Mancha," to a series of Stephen Sondheim musicals at the famed Ravinia Festival opposite such legendary stars as Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald - before moving to New York a few years back.

"I actually auditioned for Juilliard," he says. "I had to do contemporary monologue, and though I had been acting since I was 8, I really had no idea. So I used one from the drama "The Shadow Box" because it was long. Needless to say, I didn't get in. But in retrospect, I am glad I took the route of being a young actor in Chicago. I still recommend that to people starting. It's such a rich theatrical community with boundless talent. I don't know if I would have been able to work with all those incredible people at Ravinia if I did it the other way."

Nevertheless, when his sister was preparing "Nurse Jackie" in 2008, she brought her brother in to audition. And he didn't get the part! "I went in for another role and they chose someone else," says Wallem. "Thor was not even in the pilot episode. But apparently everyone involved in the show, not just my sister, liked me so much that they customized this part for me," he says. "Originally, he was just another gay nurse - there was already one on the show - and we were sort of comic relief. But he's become fully fleshed out over the past few years. It was so important that he just wasn't some gay guy who walks around singing show tunes. We've seen so many aspects of Thor over the past season, in so many small ways. I was able to have so much more input than I imagined in his growth - and that was something I didn't know would happen."

Wallem was particularly surprised when the show's writers incorporated his own struggles with diabetes, which included the loss of one eye, into the role of Thor. "That was the greatest reward for me, to be able to share that struggle with other people. I have gotten nothing but positive feedback from everyone, especially other diabetics and people in the medical profession. In general, it's been so important to all of us how nurses and doctors have responded so positively to the show, because we've all been so careful about how authentically we've tried to portray those people."

The 6 foot 3 inch actor says he's been equally shocked and delighted by his acceptance from another community. "I am so thrilled to have been embraced as a bear," he laughs. "Just because I was a big guy, I never thought of myself in that world. Maybe because it's because I never had a beard until the show. But they have been so lovely to me, and I love it."

Because Thor is so much like Wallem, the actor is particularly happy about the positive feedback. "I am truly glad people like him, even if he's both more confident and more caustic than I try to be in real life," he says. "If they didn't, I would take it personally and never sleep again. In the past, what I have loved about acting is that it allows me to escape myself. This is a brand-new experience to play a character yet stay true to my essence."

Not surprisingly, Wallem can't say much about the show's final episodes. "We definitely find Jackie back to her old ways. We see that cunning mind of her working in manipulative, surprising ways," he notes. "But I am satisfied with how the series wraps up. I think this season is true to the spirit of the show, and very authentic to her character and everyone else. I think when people look back at Thor, they won't just see a gay man but this loyal guy who would drop everything to help a friend - gay or straight - iIn his quiet, noble way, Thor knew everything that was going wrong. He's the kind of guy who sees everything and picks up the temperature in the room. I think that's what made him such a great friend to Jackie."

His on-screen friendship with Jackie's portrayer, Emmy Award-winner Edie Falco, has translated to an off-screen friendship as well, not to mention a very unusual collaboration. "I will say to the day I die, Edie is the coolest person in the business. I so admire her for how genuine and accessible she is, which really contributed to the excellence of our show."

The pair's relationship changed significantly five years ago. "One day in 2010, she turned to me and said, 'I want to do a cabaret show.' I could never have dreamed of that in a million years," he notes. "Her goal wasn't to show the world she was a singer; she loves singing for pure joy. She was Eliza in 'My Fair Lady' when she was in high school but hadn't done any public singing since she became famous on 'The Sopranos.' And I guess she saw my passion for music as well. So we created this show [which they performed at New York's Laurie Beechman Theatre] that was really just this incredible journey of two friends. My biggest goal was to make her happy. It was a true team collaboration, and was one of the most rewarding personal and artistic experiences of my whole life. It was also great that my partner of six years, Tony, was our director."

The couple, who live together in New York, first met in Chicago way back in 1997. "When I was leaving 'Forever Plaid,' he replaced me in the show; and because my dressing room was closest to the stage door, I got to show him around. We spent about a half hour together, and I thought he was the nicest guy. But I didn't see him again until 2008, when he contacted me on Facebook. He was working in Kansas City as a teacher, but he just said he wanted to thank me about how lovely I was when we met. He said there was no agenda; I was moving to New York, but we talked every night. It was a long-distance relationship for a year and half until he came here."

With the last season wrapped, Wallem admits he's at loose ends. "It's the first time in my life I am not actually committed to anything," he says. "I will audition for pilot season and for theater. I've done some work in New York over the last few years [including the City Center Encores! production of "Pipe Dream" and the Carnegie Hall concert of "Kristina"], but I know some producers and directors will look at me at an audition and wonder, 'Why is Thor here?' So maybe I will have to reintroduce myself. But I don't care how long it takes. I love it here in New York, and I am staying here, and if possible, I will keep doing it all. I've been spoiled."